Brothers
by FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: How can two sets of brothers end up so differently? Sirius and Regulus; Rabastan and Rodolphus. For Les (QueenDementor), happy valentines - I hope I fulfilled your prompts well!
1. Rabastan & Rodolphus: Brothers by Blood

_For Les (QueenDementor) – happy valentines and I hope you enjoy this!_

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Prompt: Arranged Marriage

Characters: Rodolphus and Rabastan

Pairing [canon]: Rodolphus and Bellatrix

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 _If I was dying on my knees,  
You would be the one to rescue me.  
And if you were drowned at sea,  
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe._

Brother by Kodaline

"Huh," Rabastan says the moment they are away from the parents, seconds after Rodolphus has cast a charm up to stop sound escaping. "I wasn't expecting that."

Rodolphus turns on his brother, instantly ready to attack and attack – to bear his fangs and strike. "Don't for a moment pretend that you didn't know that was happening!" He shouts back, voice raised, wand held in a white-knuckled grip. "You knew that was going to happen!"

"I'm afraid not, little wolf," Rabastan replies, barely glancing at Rodolphus' drawn wand.

Rodolphus snarls at his older brother, "Don't call me that!" He says, "And you knew! Merlin damn it all, you knew! Don't give me some rubbish about not knowing, _Alwaid._ "

Rabastan finally turns a glare on his younger brother. He draws himself up – Rodolphus' hold on his wand tightened and his hand raised the tip slightly – he stares straight at his younger brother and says, "Are we or are we not brothers?"

Rodolphus sighs, the fight gone out of him, shoulders dropping and wand hidden away again. "My apologies, Anguis."

"And you have mine, Lupus," Rabastan replies. The pair share a quick smile at the names – their nicknames for each other remain the only untainted thing between them.

Rodolphus gained his first, when he broken Rabastan's toy and Rabastan snarled _'little wolf'_ back due to the Germanic name Hrodwulf – which mean famous wolf – which Rodolphus' name was derived from. When Rodolphus had started to bawl, Rabastan had been quick to call him wolf in Latin, and since then it had become a safe name between the two of them. Rabastan had gained his own nickname Anguis – meaning snake – once they had learnt the word in their Latin lessons, and learnt that Rabastan was derived from the Arabic phrase that meant head of the serpent. When Rodolphus had gotten annoyed at Rabastan, he called him by the second name the Rabastan star is known as – Alwaid, meaning who is to be destroyed in Arabic.

"I knew nothing of the marriage proposal," Rabastan finally reveals. "I would've told you if I had known. We are brothers."

Rodolphus sighs, "This is because of that stupid deal we made when we started Hogwarts. I decided to be the outgoing one and you decided to be the hidden one."

Rabastan smiles, "I do believe it has worked out in my favour – for once."

Rodolphus rolls his eyes. "Merlin damns you for being the older one – I hope you know that. If I had been smart enough to decide to be the hidden one, then _you_ would be in this situation."

"And it is your own fault you weren't smart enough Lupus," Rabastan responds. "Anyway, I have heard a bit about Bellatrix Black. She's dangerous and will want little with you. It's all purely political. She, too, is loyal to the Dark Lord. Rumours paint a sadistic woman who knows no restraint and listens to our Lord only."

"Will an heir be expected?" Rodolphus asks. "Or do you expect this marriage to be for politics only?"

"Power and allies are granted, along with a smoother ascent into the Dark Lord's circle," Rabastan reveals. "I don't expect there will be any push until the war has been won, as she is one of our Dark Lord's top Death Eaters, and thus can't be missing from action for so long. You will want to stay on her good side."

"A response much like yours then," Rodolphus says decisively. "Act weak-willed and keep out of her way, pull the strings from the shadows."

"Except you won't have strings but the thinnest threads; all you will have, dear brother, is scraps."

"Scraps from a wife, but ropes from a brother," Rodolphus points out.

"And who says that I won't make a noose from those ropes?" Rabastan asks, even as previous invisible tension unwinds from his shoulders. Rodolphus raises an eyebrow, the motion sharp and blunt. Rabastan chuckles, "Quod reptat sumus!"

"Ad sidera nobis fugere!"

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 ** _Translations:_**

 _Quod reptat sumus – winged we are_

 _Ad sidera nobis fugere – to the stars, we fly_

 ** _Notes:_**

 _Rodolphus is known as the braver and calmer one and who marries Bellatrix; Rabastan is thought of as the opposite to his brother. I painted the picture where the brothers are twins, with Rabastan being slightly older and forever disappointing, with Rodolphus being the achieving younger brother. However, in reality, Rabastan is smarter and is rather ambitious and prefers the shadows where he can manipulate things to his liking. Rodolphus, on the other hand, is better at thinking on the fly and is better with people. Together, the pair work to have power and allies and strength among the company of purebloods they keep._

 _I have never written either of them – it was an interesting experience._


	2. Sirius and Regulus: Betrayed by Blood

Prompt: Forced smile; wilted rose

Character(s): Sirius and Regulus

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 _I hope you know I'd take a bullet,  
Stand out on the frontline.  
Oh, life is short, don't you know it?  
But everybody needs a partner in crime._

Brother by Brett Eldrege

Sirius can actually recall how he felt when he first heard the news – the news that he was going to be an older brother. It wasn't joy, because there is no joy in being told that _we have a spare now, so you need to be better than you are._ It's just pressure being added to his shoulders, filling his veins, gravity tugging down on him. No, Sirius isn't happy when he learns that he will be an older brother. He plans to hate and hate and hate his younger brother.

When Regulus is born, Sirius falls in love. How can he not? His brother, crying and pink and not stopping his screams, falls quiet in his arms and smiles. Sirius promises in that moment to look after Regulus, to protect him, and to always, always love him.

* * *

 _Yesterday we were brothers,  
Oh, now we're enemies!_

Brother by Riles

Sirius leaves with the door crashing after him. He leaves with nothing but a wand. He leaves with pain protesting his every movement. He leaves behind a family torn and twisted and corrupted and the symbol of everything he hates. He leaves behind a permanently disappointed mother, an angry and uncaring father, and a brother who has cursed him with every breath he's ever taken.

Sirius lost his brother early, to his parents and their beliefs. He tried. Merlin damn it; he tried! He failed, but he tried – and that's important. In the end, though, it doesn't matter. Sirius may have lost his blood family, but he's found another family. He found friends who stick with him, brothers in all but name. His disaster of a childhood doesn't matter, nor does the people he's left behind. All that matters is this – there is a fight going on, and Sirius has blood pounding in his veins that urge him to defend and protect and fight for what is right.

Sirius once protected the wrong party. He isn't going to make that mistake again.

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 _I'm sorry I missed your call,  
I wasn't there for you at all.  
And know I've thought it through,  
Maybe if I answered you  
That you would still be here all along._

Brother by Falling in Reverse

The day Sirius leaves dawns with a bright sun and surprisingly warm. The day Sirius leaves Regulus fixes a smile to his face. It feels forced, feels fake, feels like almost every smile he's ever given. Regulus longs to run after Sirius, to convince him to come back, but Sirius has never listened to Regulus. If he did once, then Regulus has forgotten such a time.

The day Sirius leaves will be something permanent in Regulus' memory. It will be one of his last thoughts, but it will be the only one that matters. Regulus will drown, screaming and struggling and not going silently because despite everything _he doesn't want to die_ , but he will drown regardless. Regulus will think that _I did this for you_ and that _I did this in spite of you_ and that _I did this and yet you left._ Regulus will never think that Sirius left him, because Regulus had always refused to leave. He was proud, he had power dancing at his fingertips, he had cultivated a position for himself and had made himself a small shadow that lengthened as the day grew older.

Regulus died and that's a tragedy, but what is tragic that after Sirius left, Regulus grew – grew weak, grew fragile, grew dangerous, grew cutting, grew cold. He grew into something he swore not to be. When he finally realised, when his last friend – last member of his family – was left for dead, he decided to do something else.

A wilted rose may be dying and may be fading, but it can still have thorns.

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 _I'm sorry, did you ask for angst and fluff?_

 _Also, yes, I googled songs to find this - I knew some of them, though._


End file.
